Hydrocarbon Vision for North-East 

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan recently released the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North-East India. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas (MoPNG) has consciously and constantly focused efforts towards making hydrocarbons a tool to enable social and economic development.

One such initiative has been the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East Region. CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory has been the Knowledge Partner to develop this Vision report. The objectives of the plan are to leverage the region’s hydrocarbon potential, enhance access to clean fuels, improve availability of petroleum products, facilitate economic development and to link common people to the economic activities in this sector.

The States covered include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The policy focus areas include moderation in light of specific terrain and weather conditions of the region coupled with ensuring fund planning for new projects. As for partnership, the stress is on greater involvement of state governments in planning and implementation, and on boosting trade with neighbouring nations.

In projects, the focus is on pipeline connectivity for carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, and petroleum products, oil and lubricants (POL); building refineries and import links; and development of compressed natural gas (CNG) highways and city gas distribution network. The production side emphases include production enhancement contracts, technology deployment and fast-track clearance etc.

Beyond production, the focus areas include exploring hydrocarbon linkages and trade opportunities with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan; implementation of ‘Make In India’ in the region; development of health & medical facilities; industrial policy & infrastructure related action points; focus on skill development; and employment generation requirement in the region.

The vision statement lays out a detailed roadmap for the entire hydrocarbons value chain, covering upstream, midstream and downstream segments. Speaking on the occasion Shri Pradhan stressed upon a paradigm shift in production and utilization of hydrocarbons to catalyse growth in the North East region and to improving standard of living for the people, generating opportunities for the youth and creating a sustainable energy secure future.

He added that to achieve the Vision it would call for collaborative efforts of central and state governments with the determination to bring the developmental shift the people of North East deserve. This will be a concrete step towards realizing our Prime Minister’s vision to develop the North East India in a mission mode.